Despite its namesake, the band Harryhausen has nothing to do with the film industry.

The group was founded by five Syracuse University students and is named after Ray Harryhausen, a famed animator.

The band formed in the summer of 2014 after lead singer Stephen Sbiroli and bassist Sean Dougherty put ads out looking for musicians to collaborate with. Sbiroli, a sophomore television, radio and film major, and Dougherty, a sophomore marketing major, had previously worked on an acoustic project called
“Creative Colours.”

Described by its members as an “indie garage” rock band, Harryhausen’s musical influences range from blues to punk rock. Guitarist Zach Schweikert, a sophomore advertising major and former columnist for The Daily Orange, described the group’s sound as “an amalgamation of everybody’s different styles.”

The group’s members have varying tastes in music, guitarist Justin Patricolo said, but the different musical tastes allow the band members to collaborate well.

“We can all agree on what’s good music and what music we don’t like, and that affects the songs we write a lot,” said Patricolo, a sophomore English and textual studies major. “That kind of makes our sound.”

The group played at the Westcott Theater on Friday with the bands Pizza Party and Basket(s), also formed by SU students. Although this was its first venue performance, Harryhausen has also performed at various parties on campus.

Harryhausen focuses on collaboration in all parts of the music-making process, from songwriting to performing. Though its individual members have different influences, Sbiroli said the group finds ways to inspire each other.

“We all have different inspirations for the sound we want to go for, but I think (while playing) live we kind of inspire each other,” Sbiroli said. “We definitely have artists we’re influenced by, but at the same time, we know how to express ourselves and have fun doing it and be our own inspiration.”

Dougherty said Harryhausen’s creative and collaborative environment is his favorite part about being in the band.

“Watching (the music) go from just some chords on an acoustic and notes in a book to a whole song we’ve recorded with the whole band, and everybody putting in what they’re good at and what their specialties are — I really enjoy watching it happen,” Dougherty said.

Harryhausen’s music is available on Bandcamp and ReverbNation, as well as its Facebook page, where the band’s demos are available. Though the group hasn’t professionally recorded anything yet, the members are working with Made at SU — a young artists development agency run by audio arts graduate students — to release an EP in April.

The band also will be playing at Relay for Life and is collaborating with Made at SU to perform at Funk ’n Waffles.

All the music the band has released thus far are original songs. The group has released two original songs — “In the Morning?” and “Cyclops” — but also has several other songs written. Schweikert said the band’s goal is to continue to write more originals and to make its own music.

During the band’s live shows, the members have covered rock songs ranging from The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” and Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid” to more modern songs like “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet and “Kids” by MGMT. At its recent Westcott show, the band debuted its most recent cover of “Steady, As She Goes” by The Raconteurs.

“We’re trying to get into more modern influences. Covers help do that,” Dougherty said. “Playing around with the covers help us flesh out our sound.”

Despite its various rock influences, Patricolo said Harryhausen aims to appeal to everyone, whether the audience knows its music or not.

“If it’s not the music — if you come to the show and you don’t know any of our music, then it’s definitely the performance,” Patricolo said. “We’re all animated people, we’re not just a couple of guys standing up there playing music. We’re definitely getting you engaged into the show.”

Published on February 17, 2015 at 12:01 am

Contact Isha: idamle@syr.edu